Businesses, organizations, healthcare providers, tutors and other individuals and operations that require appointments and reservations for their services are increasingly looking for ways to offer a shared calendar to their customers and clientele so they can view what days are available for booking a service time. When utilized as a function of an online appointment-scheduling application, the technology can expand well beyond a simple calendar view, with such functionality as online self-scheduling and automated e-mail and text message reminders. It's for this reason that these groups are incorporating Internet technology into their office procedures to help them improve and grow their operations.
CLOUD TECHNOLOGY HELPS IMPROVE THE APPOINTMENT-SCHEDULING PROCESS
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Web-based appointment-scheduling software is what's commonly known as a cloud application. This is a universal term for programs not housed on a person's personal computer or office network. Think in terms of accessing a Web page for online banking, accessing e-mail or updating a social networking page. It's software that's accessible through the Internet from a secure location. And that's what makes it so appealing to a growing number of businesses, medical practitioners, colleges and universities, government agencies, tutors and organizations. It's easy for them and their customers and clientele to use and doesn't require expensive installations, hardware and ongoing maintenance. Unlike pricey software platforms of the past, cloud-computing technology gives these groups an affordable software alternative that users, in most cases, can have up and running within an hour. All that's required is an Internet connection.
The beauty of online appointment scheduling software is in its functionality. The "shared calendar" that customers and clientele can access is more than just a simple program that visitors can view and possibly interact with. In most scheduling applications, it offers robust features that can completely change the way an operation manages its appointments and reservations, such as:
• Online self-scheduling. This feature allows individuals to book their appointments and reservations at their own convenience and at any time. In essence, it keeps a business, office or organization open 24 hours a day. And it also can reduce the number of phone calls from individuals looking to schedule service, thereby freeing up valuable staff time for more important tasks.
• Automated e-mail and text message reminders. Sent prior to a schedule appointment or reservation, these are not only appreciated by customers and clientele, they can also help the business or office reduce the number of "no-shows" by over 50 percent.
• Online payment options. Individuals who schedule appointments online may wish to pay at the same time. This feature can also help reduce the number of "no-shows", as a person who already paid for a service is more likely to keep the appointment.
• Record-keeping and reporting. Traditional methods of managing appointments involve more than just answering the phone and writing down a name in a calendar. Staff must then input details of the appointment as well as contact information in separate spreadsheets, files or other documents. This can be time-consuming and require significant staff resources, depending on the number of daily services scheduled. It's also burdensome to locate specific information or compile details for reports. Appointment-scheduling systems make these tasks easy by centralizing all appointment information in one location.
• E-marketing capabilities. Just as record-keeping can be a tedious process, so can maintaining customer and clientele e-mail lists. Online appointment-scheduling software manages customer e-mail records in the same manner as other records, making it easy to pull an up-to-date e-mail list. Since customers generally have the ability to update their account information, e-mail addresses are kept more current then if staff manually managed the list.
THE BENEFITS OF WEB-BASED TECHNOLOGY OVER 'TRADITIONAL' SOFTWARE
Until fairly recently, many software programs were out of reach for most small businesses and professionals because of the high installation costs, pricey hardware and ongoing maintenance and upgrades necessary to keep the software up and running. This is no longer the case, as these cloud-based appointment-scheduling software applications can now easily fit into any operating budget. Some don't even require long-term contracts by offering "pay-as-you-go" service plans.
In addition to the minimal costs involved in incorporating such systems, online scheduling programs are accessible from any Internet connection, a tremendous benefit in today's 24-7 work environment. Many business owners and professionals must have the ability to access their appointments and customer information from outside the office; the more traditional software applications made this very difficult-if not impossible-since they were typically housed on only one computer or network. This benefit expands to the customer and client as well, as it makes online self-scheduling easy to implement.
Offering a 'shared calendar' means a lot more than showing what days and times are available for service appointments. It can be part of a much larger and interactive online appointment-scheduling system that completely transforms the way administrators and staff schedule and manage their appointments and reservations. Give the technology a try (most scheduling service providers offer a free trial of their product) and you soon learn the advantages of these beneficial applications.
Shared Calendar More Interactive With Online Appointment-Scheduling Software Applications
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